Brian DePeña is the mayor of Lawrence, Massachusetts. He is also, as of this fall, facing two separate grand jury indictments from two separate governments.
The first is federal. The second is from the state. Together, they describe a pattern that goes well beyond a single bad decision.
The Fraud Charge
In early September 2026, a federal grand jury indicted DePeña on 11 counts. Prosecutors allege he fraudulently obtained a pandemic relief loan worth roughly $1.5 to $1.6 million for his business, Tenares Tire.
DePeña was arraigned on the indictment but waived his appearance. He pleaded not guilty.
That case is still open. A federal status conference is scheduled for October 14, 2026.
The Wiretapping Charge
Three weeks after the federal indictment, on September 24, 2026, a Massachusetts statewide grand jury indicted DePeña again. This time the charges came from the state Attorney General’s office: 15 counts total, according to the Boston Globe.
Fourteen of those counts allege unlawful distribution of wiretapped communications. One count is witness intimidation.
Here is what prosecutors say happened. DePeña installed private security cameras inside his own City Hall office. The city’s official cameras record video only — no audio. DePeña’s cameras, prosecutors allege, recorded audio too.
In March 2026, those cameras allegedly captured a hallway conversation between two city employees. At least one of them did not know she was being recorded.
According to the Attorney General’s office, DePeña then distributed copies of that recording to 14 people — one distribution count for each person who allegedly received it.
The 15th count, witness intimidation, is tied to separate conduct prosecutors say took place in August 2026.
What the Timeline Suggests
This next point is editorial interpretation, not an established fact in either indictment: the sequence laid out by prosecutors — a secret office recording in March, followed by a federal fraud indictment in September, followed by alleged witness intimidation in August — suggests a mayor managing overlapping legal threats with the tools of his office, rather than someone caught in a single isolated incident. That is the pattern the public record currently points to. It is not a legal conclusion, and DePeña has not been convicted of anything.
Where Things Stand
DePeña has refused to resign. Both indictments remain active. He has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, and no verdict has been reached in either case.
Lawrence officials now expect him to face a recall election, according to WGBH. Meanwhile, DePeña has publicly declined to step down despite both sets of charges.
For now, he remains the sitting mayor of Lawrence while a $1.5 million fraud case and a 15-count wiretapping and intimidation case both sit on active dockets.
Read the source documents for yourself and weigh in with your own verdict at themoraldecayindex.com. What’s your verdict on Brian DePeña?